The Whipping Girl
by belly131
Summary: Throughout history, whipping boys and girls have been thought of to just bear punishment for their royal counterparts' misdeeds. But their role exceeds far more than that. They have a duty to be a counterpart, a protector, and a best friend.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I only own Felicity, and the creative direction this story goes in.

* * *

Snow White.

Time for thought. That is what 15 years of imprisonment has given me. Endless time for thought. Thoughts of deep philosophical matters that I'd only heard flashes of at my father's table, and thoughts of insignificant and trivial things that my mind has been thinking about since I could even form words. But there is always thought, an endless stream of consciousness that doesn't seem to ever end. Sometimes I feel myself on the brink of madness, with the neverending thoughts. How beautiful it would be to just be able to lie here, empty minded and just _be. _

A whistle filters in from outside my cell. I pause for a moment, bring myself to lick my lips and respond with a whistle in turn.

The whistle returns almost immediately, light and airy, a birdsong that I've heard floating around the high North tower. But I'm not in the mood for this little game today. I purse my lips, about to whistle back, and stop. Today is one of the dark days.

"Come Snow, be not melancholy, you have yet to look out your window today! The sky is as unblemished as the skin of a newborn babe," The voice coaxes me, although I know full well that the owner of the voice has a cell that's window faces the bleak wall of another tower.

I could not deny the voice anything, so reluctantly I drag myself to the window. Indeed, just as the voice promised it's a lovely day. The loveliest of lovely spring days. A fresh breeze blows through, welcoming my nostrils with the fresh scent of petals instead of the damp mustiness I have grown accustomed to. As a bird flies from my windowsill, I see a protruding piece of metal. A nail? I grab on, it's wedged in but with enough leverage I think I can...The nail breaks free with a jerk, a disjointed metal stake in my hand.

For the last 15 years I had learned that with endless thought comes two distinct demeanors. Negativity of my thoughts could depress me, turning those days into what I liked to call "dark days." I could be nearly inconsolable on those days. Days with simpler thoughts were in turn called "light days," on these days I found myself more at ease.

Well, as at ease as a prisoner can be. I cross my cell to the door and lay my face against the railings. The cell across from mine holds a girl in a similar position as mine.

"See, what did I tell you?" She says with a grin. She reaches out her fingers, and I do the same. Our fingers almost touch between the stretch of cells.

"We'll reach one day," She reassures me with a smile. Always reassuring, always picking me up, my Felicity.

She sends me a grin before retreating back into the shadow of her own cell. I'm left to ponder after her shadow, as I normally do, on how I was lucky enough to receive such a dear friend, and keep her with me this long. Is that selfish? I question myself. A bit, but I'm always selfish in matter with her at hand. I do not like to reflect on the darker nature of our shared past, the mere thoughts dredge terrible memories that stain my cheeks red.

An echo of a door slamming open and shut filters down the hallway. I hurry back to my cot, the nail still clutched in my palm and hidden under my pillow. The pale, blonde haired man, brother to Ravenna appears in the whole of my cell door again. On other days he just watches passively, his face animated in any move I make. Today, the cell door slides open.

I wonder if he's hear to barter with me. My hand tightens around the nail under my pillow as I pretend to be asleep.

"You slimy git, what do you think you are doing going in there, your dearest sister gave you order do you not remember," Felicity's voice breaks across the hallway and into my cell after him, I can almost see her fists rattling the confines of her cage, always the protector.

"Tell your whipping girl to be quiet or she'll not have a tongue to protest with later," He says, seeing through my act and sitting at the edge of my bed.

"It's- It's okay Fee, I am okay," I call out to her. The man stares at me with a small smile, and pit of unease rises in my stomach.

"You pretend to sleep when I come mostly," He states, the smile never leaving his face, and the unease never leaving my gut.

"You never come in," I respond, noticing he draws closer.

"My sister would not allow it," He responds in turn.

"What does she want from me?" I dare ask him.

"You need never be afraid again, Princess, you'll never have to be locked away in here again," He says, my skin feels slimy from the close proximity to him.

I can hear Fee in my head, 'Get him off you!' She screams, and when she talks, I listen. Instinctively, the nail is raised in my hand and across his face. At first I thought I had missed, but the blood blossoms on his fair skin like roses in the wintertime. 'Now run!' She screams, and she says it out loud too, though I know she could not have seen. But I always obey, and soon I'm running, locking the cell door behind me. The man's hands narrowly miss my face. I take the key and run to Felicity's cell, fumbling with the keys as the lock finally falls away.

"They're escaping! Guards! Guards!" The man screams, a pitiful howl.

Felicity's cell door swings open and she grabs my hand, physical contact for the first time in years. How good skin feels on skin, how nice warmth is. I only have a few seconds to ponder my thoughts when I'm suddenly jerked in one direction, my limbs getting used to running for the first time in ages.

"Come now Snow, I need your cooperation, this is vital," Felicity coaxes in a stern tone, her grip is hard on my own, bringing pain and what I know will be bruises by tomorrow but I still relish the pain because it has come from _touch_.

So I move my feet faster, and as I had all my life, let Felicity take the lead.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I only own Felicity and the direction this story goes in

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Felicity.

My muscles groan and burn in response to all the activity they have experienced in the last few minutes. We thunder down the North Tower, narrowly escaping squadrons of guards.

"There, the door." I say out loud, mostly as a reassurance to Snow, who appears to be overwhelmed by the physical exertion and new sights. But, me? I have trained for this my entire life.

We push open the door slowly, edging out into the morning air. Fresh air. My lungs expand immensely, and I feel lightheaded and gleeful immediately. I lock eyes with Snow, and grin, seeing she's feeling the same thing.

"Stop them!" A guard overlooking us screams, and we're off again. We make a mad dash through the middle of the square, alarmed peasants and courtiers staring at the dirty girls making a break for the gates.

"No, no, no, how do we open the gates?" I scream, as they fall to a close before us. I will die before the escape plan goes in vain.

"There!" Snow screams pointing at the sewage gate that drains to the sea. Oh, the girl is a genius I almost scream in delight. We run at the hole together, falling hard on the mud and sliding into the drain before anybody can lay a finger on us.

The scent reaches me before we make contact with the water. Sewage. I hold by breath and hope Snow had the good sense to do the same.

"Snow? Snow!" I scream, searching the brackish water for a fair limb. A hand clamps onto mine and I nearly scream. We make our way to the direction the waters flowing and find ourselves at a small window overlooking the sea.

The waves crash beneath us, the water undulates tantalizingly.

"We prayed and prayed for an adventure," I say to her with a wry grin. She returns my smile with a lovely one of her own, and I feel content deep in my heart. I know that even if we were not the best of friends I would do anything for the girl, just to see that heart achingly beautiful smile.

We struggle through the salty brine only to find our feet sinking on the moist sands of the beach. And what luck! Or is it magic? That a majestic white horse lays on the beach, as if she were waiting for us.

Snow approaches tentatively at first, even as children she was the one with the fondness of animals. The horse allows her to mount her, and Snow reaches a hand down for me.

It takes less than 3 seconds to remember the feeling I had almost forgotten after 15 years. I hate horses. With a passion. I can ride them, be it necessary, but I will _not_ enjoy it. I hold close to Snow who laughs without a care, a sound I haven't heard in years. I bounce uncomfortably behind her, pain in painful areas and a nauseousness rising within me.

We ride out, through a village, where peasants look hostilely at us. Snow starts to speak, ever gentle and kind, but I notice their stakes aren't lowering and I kick the horse into moving us forward.

"Such hatred in their eyes," Snow says with such sadness. She's always been an empath, fixing scraped knees and bruised chins with kisses and flowers. The Queen's men are in quick pursuit behind us, so we ride on, hard.

My mind is in overdrive, where can we go? Straight into the Dark Forest, we'll surely die! But I cannot fight off 6 grown men especially with the little practice I've had and no weapons. The white mare leads us straight into the mouth of the forest anyway, so Dark Forest it is. Maybe if we stick to the edges we'll be able to find our way out.

With a buck, I'm thrown to the floor, painfully. No grass to cushion my fall. And that is why I hate horses, hate hate hate them. The horse, stuck in a mud puddle looks at me with contempt. Yeah, well I do not like you either.

Snow clutches at the horse, her eyes tearing up at the inevitable doom of the creature.

"Snow, Snow we _have_ to go," The Queen's men grow closer, and I'm able to pull a hesitant Snow away.

Inside the forest, everything seems so alive with death, if that makes sense.

The blackened trees curl in on themselves, as if they were alive. Black bugs crawl on every surface, hissing noises sounding from over my shoulder no matter what direction I face. Snow and I run hand in hand, falling on everything in our long dresses. I try, to no avail, to rip our long skirts. Horses sound in every direction, each neigh punctuated with the steady pound of my own heart.

Our most recent fall tosses us into a pit of mushrooms that release a black cloud of spore into our faces. Oh no, I reach up a handful of fabric to stuff my nose, but the noxious gas has already entered my system.

"Sn-" I try to utter a warning, but I lose control of my mouth. Her eyes blink wide in surprise, her lovely face going slack. With the little strength I have left, I jerk us upwards and forwards.

The air itself seems to be melting, there are ghostly specters staring at Snow and I stumbling like drunkards. We dash forward, Snow muttering to herself short phrases.

"Surely...insanity," She utters, "Finally, release...Madness!"

"Shh!" I try to quiet her, noticing how her figure is morphing, her skin turning to scales then feathers. I want to run away, every inch of my body screams to run away, but I can't leave her.

It's just the mushrooms, I assure myself, holding close to my best friend and she shrieks on about madness.

I just have to wait for the effects to go away, until I can make any rational decisions.

I don't know who falls asleep first, but soon we are both wrapped around each other, eyes shut as I fall into nightmares, and Snow falls farther and farther away.


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: only own Fee, and yeah.

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Snow White.

This is full fledged insanity. I'm finally mad. Crazy, bonkers, whatever you want to call it. Figures morph in front of me, Felicity falls to the ground, eyes shut.

"Fee! Fee!" I call, shaking her, but my voice sounds like a whisper and the floor does look inviting. I sink down next to her, looking at the sky, which seems to rain bloody tears down on me. And finally succumb to sleep.

When I awake, I find the dreams I had just had slipping farther and farther away. They were magical, I held a sword, I was in armor astride a horse. Fee was by my side, her head thrown back laughing, and we were conquering. Beside me, Felicity lies still in the throes of sleep. A nightmare from what I can tell.

From the 15 years spent apart, I had almost forgotten about them, until those nights when they were too strong and her screams were reverberated off the stone walls. She twitches madly, her hands flying out, her skin glistening with cold sweat.

I pet her hair, smoothing down the curly tendrils that have escaped the tight plait she wears. Slowly, once, twice, thrice, she blinks her way into consciousness locking eyes with me.

She sits up, checking our surroundings.

"It won't be long before they come back, we best be moving, I do not want to see nightfall in the Dark Forest," she murmurs. I nod, mostly because I do not know what else to do. Fee would always be the one to take the lead, and I would always follow. That's just the way of things.

It seems we spend hours on end trudging through the forest, but night never falls. I'm unsure as to the time of day because it seems to me the sun has been in the same spot for the last hours. Felicity has grown lost, and with that grumpy, breaking branches left and right as we seem to make the same circle.

"Maybe we should sit and break," I suggest gently to her, thirst is nearly killing me now, my voice is almost unrecognizable.

"And then get killed by the Queen's ugly hunchmen, good idea," She says grouchily, falling back on a rock.

I don't know why, but her sharp tone makes me blink in surprise, tears welling up. Probably because she's always sure of herself and this new, lost Felicity scares me, and partly because she's never yelled at me for no reason before.

"Snow..." She trails off, seeing my face. I stand and walk a short distance away, we just need time to breathe that's all. It's not me frustrating her, it's our helplessness.

After a while she comes over and joins me, placing her head on my lap as she sits at my feet, just like when we were children. It may have always been Felicity leading, but it was always me taking care of her.

"I'm sorry I snapped," She grumbles, even now, 15 years cannot change her loathing of apologizing.

"We just needed to breathe, it was not me angering you, merely our situation," I try and placate her. She gives me a strange look. I was never able to read her as easily as she could read me.

"What?" I ask.

"I can never see how you were so ready to forgive, always. You can only see the good in other people," She says with a contemplative look.

Her question confuses me, of course I see only the good in people. All people are inherently good, they just make bad decisions sometimes, or let false information cloud their judgement. Or in the case of Ravenna, suffer from frequent and long lasting lapses in sanity. But that doesn't change that there is a person inside, who was a child once, a child just like we were. Hopeful, idealistic, optimistic, innocent. For some people, something changed that, and it wasn't their fault.

I'm about to voice this to her when we hear voices.

"They've been through this way," A rumbling voice calls out.

Felicity grabs me before I even realize what's going on and pulls me into the hollow of a tree. We stay there crouched, her hand locked around my mouth. I know if she let go my quivering breath would give away out position instantly. It's curious to notice how her hand does not even shake, her breath is steady.

I see him coming before she does, because her back is to facing out. Dark blonde hair, tall, broad, entrancing blue eyes. His hand locks around her mouth and grabs me afterwards. We're dragged kicking and screaming out in front of Ravenna's men. It's strange to see Fee, so brave and valiant, my Fearless Fee, dwarfed by the mere size of this man's palm. Her eyes are on fire, kicking him to no avail.

"Hand them over," The blonde haired man, who Felicity had told me was called Finn, says to the man holding us.

"No, he'll only betray you!" I scream to him, struggling. Felicity bites his hand and gets her mouth freed.

"He's evil, they all are, they work with the Queen!" She says.

"Huntsman, hand over the girls and you will be given what was promised you," He says with his slimy smile.

"He's lying, they'll only kill us then kill you," Felicity says, pleading with him. He looks both of us in the eyes, young girls.

"What shall be done with them?" He asks, finally coming to his senses.

"That's none of your business," Finn responds quickly, growing angry that this exchange is taking longer than needed.

"I'll fulfill my part of the bargain, when she does," The Huntsman roars at the smaller man.

Finn licks his lips, his slimy smile making my skin crawl, "My sister has a great many powers. She can sustain life, take life...But she cannot resurrect it!" He screams, spittle flying.

The Huntsman roars flinging me and Felicity off as he swings his axe towards Finn.

Felicity, ever nimble, she was always the better dancer, daringly swoops a hand in the Huntsman's coat and pulls out a long blade. She pushes me behind her as men come closer to us, arms outstretched.

They smile, ready to easily overpower us. Stop Fee, you'll get hurt, I want to scream. I pull her back by the shoulder, but she pushes me back hard and I fall behind her.


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: i own Felicity, I don't remember exact dialogue forgive me. please review, i enjoy reviews!

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The Huntsman.

Had I been any less vigilant I would not have noticed one of the girl's slender hands sliding into my coat pocket, relieving me of a knife. 'Those aren't toys little girl!' I barely had time to utter, but she took to a fighting stance like a natural. The girls, standing next to each other look like twins. The one without the knife gets pushed back harshly, falling to the ground. The one with the knife has a feral look in her eyes, moving with diligence and grace.

I narrowly avoid a sword slicing past my ear, I twist to the side plunging my axe into a man's chest. The fight comes naturally to me, after so many years in the army and then in crawling bar fights it's like I'm on autopilot. In the corner of my eyes I see a lumbering light haired man lurching toward both girls.

I toss the axe through the head of an oncoming swordsman and like an instinct I jerk towards the girls. It's a common human instinct, a common male instinct, to protect women. I move to tackle the man from the side, but the slight girl moves fast. Faster than anyone I've ever seen. She darts through his arms, almost as if she's embracing him. She tosses a fist up to throw his oncoming swing off, throwing the man off balance himself.

She darts forward with no hestitation, her face full of determination. It looks almost _easy_ the way she snakes the blade between the sweetspot in his armor. The way she plunges the knife into his heart. Her eyes almost glow.

As I turn I see Finn and his remaining men draw back. Finn, almost as insane as his sister, is nearly frothing at the mouth screaming of his revenge. All three of us remaining watch their figures retreat.

After a pause I finally face the two girls, "What did Ravenna want from you two?"

What could two teenaged girls possibly owe the sorceress queen? All I know is that if they owed a debt to that evil queen, only destruction would follow in their wake.

"Shouldn't you know? You were the one hunting us!" One replies.

"Well no longer, you two can only bring death and destruction," I jab a finger at the one closest to me.

"Wait! We need your help, we need to go to Duke Hammond's castle," The one with the knife says.

"That's mine, where'd you learn to fight like a man?" I ask her, snatching the knife from her hands and letting my curiosity get the best of me.

"There's an army waiting for us there!" The knife-less one says to me.

"Duke Hammond's army?" I nearly snort, an army of farmers and butchers and bakers, a likely army.

"Please, you must take us," The knife-less one implores.

"I must not do anything." I retort, making my way back out of the forest.

Both girls traipse behind me, I glare over my shoulder at them.

"They'll kill you if you come back without us, and for slaying their men." The knife-taker says to me, her tone is sassy no matter what she says.

"Please, sir, we'll pay you once you take us there. However much you want." The knife-less one says, her tone is softer, everything about her is softer.

"30 gold pieces," I throw out, testing the water.

"100!" The knife-taker exclaims, from where she moved soundlessly in front of me. I look back and forth between both girls, a keen interest forming. And money as a reward. And I could always bail if needed. I ponder the pros and cons pensively.

"Fine." I say tight lipped. Without a further word I make my way in a direction I think is out, and both girls fall into a step beside me. They pick up a light conversation and I almost groan out loud. Great, girlish chit chat, I did not sign up for this.

Now, while not under the stress of a battle, or in the heat of an argument I can tell that they are not twins. In fact aside from first glance, they really don't look so similar at all.

The girl on my left, the knife-less one, is taller and more rounded out in the body. Her tumbling locks are the color of a raven's wing, her pale skin the same color as fresh snow. She smiles at little jokes the other one makes and her smile is lovely. Her green eyes alight on mine every so often, her shy smile forces her eyes down.

The girl on my right, the knife-taker, is shorter and more slender. Her hair is a dark mahogany, like a chest I used to own when I was confined to a house. Her skin, similar to the girl on my left is snow white. Her eyes are the same tawny brown as her hair. She walks with a sureness in her step, leading even though she doesn't know the way.

I learn through their little passings, that the one on my left is called Snow, and the one on my right is called Felicity.

Do not get attached Eric, I warn myself, no complications. One should always be able to pick up and run at any given second.

Snow wanders as we take a break, making her way towards a stream.

"I never caught your name Huntsman," Felicity says, turning towards me. Through some miracle she managed to get a knife from me again without my notice.

"Eric," It sounds foreign on my tongue, having not been said aloud in years, "And stop taking what isn't yours."

She smiles apologetically, but it doesn't reach her dark eyes, "Eric. Thank you."


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: felicity is mine, review please! LenaLove: thank you so much for all your reviews, I promise your questions will be answered!

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Snow.

We reach a bridge over the river littered with debris from carriages past. Something's off but I can't put my tongue on it. Fee and the Huntsman step on the bridge confidently. Mere moments later the bridge shakes as if there's a terrible earthquake.

"Troll!" Roars the Huntsman and we back up as a spiny creature I formerly thought to be the bridge tears itself free. It stands back on it's hind legs, its rough skin appearing to be bark. It looks like a tree come to life, I think in awe.

I'm barely able to see the top of it with my head all the way back.

"Run!" Screams the Huntsman. He launches forward, his axe swinging at the knees of the creature. One brush of its mighty arm and the immense man goes flying.

I see Felicity go flying towards the beast, her long brown curls flying behind her as she lets out a monstrous roar. Her little knife barely sinks into the beast and it knocks her aside. Both my girl and the huntsman are up again, as if that harsh blow was nothing.

The Huntsman fights for safety, for his own protection, I can see it in his eyes. Every movement seems punctuated by a look over his shoulder. But Fee, I know, is in it for the glory. Is in it for the adventure. She's almost animal-like in the way she attacks, hissing like a feral cat, and laughing with a mad pleasure. It's a side I've never seen of her ever.

"A soft spot, does it have a weakness?" Felicity yells as she ducks a flying tree limb.

"The underbelly is the softest part of the bark. Like a tree, if you strip the skin-" He's cut off as he rolls to his side narrowly avoiding a spiked limb, "It will be open to infection and die almost immediately."

Fee nods, stalking forward nearly on all fours.

"Felicity be careful!" I can practically see the words slipping from my lips and being carried towards her.

She darts underneath the beast stabbing swiftly in a perforated pattern along its underbelly. She reaches out to puncture it one last time when its immense arm sweeps her body in a high arc through the air, landing with a thud hundreds of meters away.

"Fee!" I scream. The Huntsman makes his attack next, lunging at the beast axe first. He lads a solid whack to the arm of the beast before he too is sent flying a few feet from me. The thudding steps of the troll's feet shakes the ground around me. He leans over the still form of the Huntsman getting ready to attack even further, I need to stop this! But what can I do?

All other thoughts are cleared from my mind as the beast leans forward as if to devour the Huntsman. I run screaming from my spot, shrieking so loud my ear drums quiver. The beast pauses and looks up at me challengingly. My knees shake. My palms sweat. I want nothing more than to collapse out of fear, but the beast sizes me up and its elephantine eyes study mine.

I draw my spine straighter and try to look intimidating. Our eyes lock and this sounds mad, but then again I am mad, but I almost saw what the troll was thinking. The eyes, once savage were now simply sorrowful. I venture a hesitant step closer, and I can almost touch the sadness in his eyes. Poor, pitiful creature. The beast lowers its eyes and stalks away.

"Snow that was amazing, what did you do?" Fee says incredulously from where she limps towards me. I rush towards her, and usher her onto a rock.

"What were you thinking? Are you mad Felicity you are no warrior you could have gotten yourself killed!" I exclaim. Her eyes get this funny look before the curtain drops behind her eyes again. She's hiding something.

"What, what is it Felicity?" I ask her. Her eyes dart away from mine.

"No, tell me now!" I pause, "I command you!"

I'd never ordered her to do anything. It always felt ridiculously haughty to order around a friend. And even if I did, she probably would not have listened.

She gets a smirk on her face and her eyes are suddenly locked on mine, as if minutes ago she hadn't been avoiding my gaze. I find myself unable to break from her hard, chocolate eyes even though they probe and prod around inside my mind as if there were tangible feelers.

"Fine,_ Princess_," She says, her voice dropping, "You have known for a while that I was your whipping girl. And you may have thought the extent of the job was to bear your punishments as a child, but our roles go a lot deeper and farther than that."

The Huntsman, seeing the intimacy of our conversation goes to wash by the stream a good distance away. My hands drop from the hem of Felicity's skirts. This changes everything, growing up of course I had known she was my whipping girl. But I thought her only duty was to be my friend. It was hard enough to be a royal child and maintain friends with other people. Peasants were considered "under my ranking" and not to be associated with. Dukes, duchesses, marquis, and marquises were dismissed from court so often it was hard to maintain a stable friendship with any of their children.

Felicity had always been my constant. My rock, even William had not meant as much to me as she did.

Her voice is softer now, taking on a new tone I've never heard her use before. One of almost reverence, "I was to take your punishments, but also be your friend. As you grew older I'd help you with your studies, I'd be your primary handmaiden. Do you remember?"

Or course I remember. Felicity was always good at maths and sciences, helping me with the difficult concepts. She was also the one to draw my baths and dress and get me ready for the day. Memories fly through my mind, pieces falling into place.

"Our looking similar was no mistake," She adds with a small smile, recalling our old conversations on how we looked so similar we must have been sisters that God had forgotten to put in the same family, "I was chosen specially in the hope that in case of an abduction or royal assassination, they would choose the wrong girl."

Now it is Fee who holds my hands in hers, speaking in calming tones because my breath is growing more and more panicked. Every venture into the town, it made sense why we were put in matching clothes, her always in the lead, in more public sight.

"And had the future circumstances been a bit different, I would be essentially your body guard. I was trained from a very young age to be able to protect you, **always**. It was my calling, my duty." She finishes, letting this information sink in.

Thousand of scenarios flashed by in my head, all of the strange tidbits of my childhood making sense now. Every single moment I could have lost Felicity flashes in my mind, no I never wanted this of her. Had I deprived her of a normal, happy life? Of true love and a family? Did she even have a choice?


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: i only own felicity, reviews are as lovely as you are:) William will be joining us shortly, and don't worry guys this will follow generally the same plot line as the movie, with a few creative detours here and there. Felicity will not become a mary sue don't worry, I just haven't decided who I wanted the girls to be with individually so there might be a little of this, a little of that and some switching all around haha!

* * *

Felicity.

Snow had taken on a pensive look since we'd continued our journey. I can't quite tell if she's mad at me or not. I decide to let her breathe. I follow behind the Huntsman, _Eric_, I remind myself. His steps are sure and silent, I try hard to make mine match but I only manage to step on the loudest twigs and not watch my step as Eric comes to a halt and I slam into the back of him.

From the ground I can see that my entire body weight did not budge him even an inch. He smirks from where he looks down at me, offering me a hand.

"Nice try," He says. I ignore his outstretched hand with a scowl and scramble upwards.

"What put your friend in a bad mood there?" He asks, continuing beside me.

After growing up with a best friend who looked like Snow, and being imprisoned for the last 15 years, I do not exactly know how to interact with men.

"She's just coming to terms with the fact that some things were not quite as they seemed," I say, edging around the real subject. I have not a doubt in mind that if Eric finds out that Snow is the presumed-to-be-dead princess, he will abandon us in a heartbeat. And we need him to find Duke Hammond's castle.

We come to a clearing at the edge of the forest finally. I nearly leap with joy, "Oh thank God, green grass, water! I thought I'd never see anything so _alive_ ever again!" I fall to my knees in the tall thistleweeds.

Eric grins and I find that his smile makes my cheeks burn. I frown and clear my throat, looking down. It's not like I would ever be thought of, not when standing next to Snow.

A familiar twang fills the air and immediately my head snaps right. The boats glided through the water almost soundlessly, what gave them away was them stringing their bows. They stare at us from hooded eyes impassively.

"No one emerges from the Dark Forest unless they are witches or cursed," One lead woman says to us.

I turn to Eric, I'm not good with people.

"We seek to escape persecution from the evil Queen Ravenna," Eric finally says. He looks to me, but I only turn my head back to the women.

They seem to murmur against themselves, the lead woman, upon catching sight of Snow reluctantly lets us board their vessels.

It's a peaceful ride to their village, a small sway of thatch-roofed shacks. Snow has decided to forgive me, she sits by my feet at the bow of the boat, her hand gliding lightly over the surface of the water. I hold her head in my lap, absentmindedly brushing her hair.

The other women on the boat rowing all sneak glances at her, I can tell from the moony looks in their eyes they find her beauty to be extraordinary. I saw it in Eric's eyes earlier too. My sweet Snow, enchanting everyone she meets.

Later, as I watch Snow entertain one of the village girls I talk to the lead woman who rowed us here.

"Katya, why are all the women's faces scarred like that," I ask from where I lean against the doorway of her hut. She comes to my side, she had explained to us all earlier that the men had all left to fight in the war.

"It is to protect us from Ravenna, without beauty we are useless to her. It is a sacrifice we need to make," She pauses and looks at Snow, "It seems the lot of you will be making a lot of sacrifices in the future."

My mouth drops open, is it possible? Does she know who Snow is? She leaves me to my thoughts.

This is why I don't like remaining stationary, why I don't like not moving around, there's nothing to distract me. All the thoughts I like to keep pushed to the farthest recesses of my mind come to the forefront with an audible thwack. What if one day I can't protect Snow? What will I do with myself? What will I do without my best friend? What will I do with my life? All I've ever known was to put Snow first. Every aspect of my life has not been considered from an angle without Snow in the forefront.

I've zoned out, barely noticing Eric stalking away from Snow with a furrowed brow. Her helpless eyes seem to be near tears. As he passes me I step out to block his path.

"What's going on?" I ask him, looking back at where Snow faces the water now.

"You could have told me, you _should have_ told me." He says harshly.

"What?" I asked, momentarily confused. As he says it, the pieces fall together in my head.

"She's the Princess. Did you think I wouldn't be able to do it? You were right." He tries to push past me. My thin frame doesn't put up much of a fight no matter how hard I try not to budge.

"We'll double the amount of gold, I swear! Whatever you want will be yours, you would have been the one to have brought back their beloved Princess!" I plead, we're so close to finding the Duke's citadel, he can't think to abandon us now.

"You can't bring my wife back," He says in a dark tone, bringing up what Ravenna had promised him. Blackmail was more like it.

"I- I can't promise you anything like that. But we need your help. I'm begging you not to turn us away." I say, my voice cracking. I don't beg. Had he known who I am as a person, he would be able to tell this was a stretch for me. I never beg.

"And who are you to even ask me of that? Who are you?" He says in a lower voice, getting up close and right in my face.

I blink. Who am I? Who am I when not in relation to Snow? A peasant girl? No, that life stopped being mine the moment I became Snow's. A girl? No, 15 years of prison took that youth out of me.

"I'm the whipping girl," I say. My voice sounds odd in my throat. Something in Eric's eyes changes, but he walks away anyway. I was never able to get anyone who mattered to stay.


	7. Chapter 7

Disclaimer: I only own Felicity, review please! William is coming soon I promise, it will get very interesting.

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Eric.

"I'm the whipping girl," She had said. Her voice had gotten detached from her eyes, as unreadable as they had been before.

I left anyway, of course I left. It was a suicide mission, no amount of gold could be of any worth to me six feet under. I feel a tiny twinge of guilt, thinking of Snow White the lovely lost princess and the future I had forsaken for her and her kingdom. I can almost feel Sarah in my head, tsk'ing at me with a furrowed brow. I try and ignore her ghost as I had before, taking a hearty swig from the flask I keep by my side.

The grain liquor burns its way down my throat, taking with it all memories of my lovely late wife. She's persistent this time though, and now she has a voice. Her gentle, warming voice whispers in my ear. I drink more to try and rid myself of missing her but she only appears more clearly and louder in my ear.

'She has a great destiny upon her, you can feel it just by looking at her.'

I shake my head but I've paused where I stand in the weeds.

'Do not forget the kindness I loved you for.'

It's like a warning, a certain disappointment in her tone that makes me freeze and my blood run cold. A whistle sounds through the air and I turn to see the village in the distance ablaze.

Death and destruction in their wake. I shake my head but find myself running back anyways.

"Snow! Felicity!" I yell, tearing through the embers of the huts. The women and their children are hustling onto boats, pulling away from their homes. Finn and his men laugh among the destruction making the fires grow larger. By the waters edge I find Katya, struck down and Snow and Felicity behind her. The man raises his hand to them but cannot move before I have struck him down.

I hold a special contempt for men who hit women. The inequality of a fight like that is injustice in itself.

"Come on," I say, grabbing at their hands and making my way out.

"No, we have to stay and help them!" Snow is adamant, digging her heels into the sand. Felicity almost rolls her eyes and gets ready to throw her friend over her shoulder.

"Snow," Felicity says, the two girls share a long look. I've never had a friendship like this, it's curious to observe.

"Go!" Screams Katya, pushing the boat out into water, "Go!"

Snow hesitantly begins wading, Felicity takes advantage of this, pulling the both of us to safety in the tall weeds. Her hand is small and determined in my own but the set of her jaw lets me know that if needed she could probably carry me away.

We've been walking for a while before Snow lets out a ragged breath, "We shouldn't even have been there."

I'm not quite sure what to say; Felicity puts a hand on her friends' shoulder but Snow pushes forward walking by herself.

Her passion, her empathy reminds me keenly of Sarah, who was a champion for the village children and animals.

"She's always been an empath," Felicity says after a while after reading my mind, looking at her friend's back. She looks at me, her dark eyes protective.

"She's always had such a large heart. As children, it nearly broke her heart every time we would come upon an injured sparrow." She says wryly with a grin.

"And not you?" I ask her, recalling the passion in her eyes as she fought.

"I'm just more rational. I see more into the future, the big picture, the cause. Snow's too important to the cause and she can't see that herself." She adds on something towards the end that sounds like 'I don't have a heart' but it's a murmur and I'm not even sure I heard it.

Later, we break by a creek to rest for the rest of the night. Felicity's out almost instantly, curled into a ball with her dark hair splayed out behind her.

Snow has remained quiet our entire journey, looking sadly at her hands, as if she herself had set fire to the entire village.

"That- what happened, it could not have been avoided. They would tear down all ends of the Earth to find you. You cannot blame yourself," I try to comfort her. Something about the care in her eyes reminds me of Sarah so much it almost causes me tangible pain.

"If I had not been there..." She trails off, there's a number of assorted things she could say but she lets me pick whatever to fill the blank.

"Then those women would have not remembered what hope felt like." I say simply. It was apparent, in all of their eyes upon seeing her, that she was a figure of hope to them. A beacon of light in the dark winter Ravenna had created.

"One day...one day I'm going to make sure that I find the husbands of all those women and I reunite those families." She says with determination in her light eyes. She's surely one of the most beautiful girls I have ever seen, and she's completely unaware of it. I think something about the innocence, and purity she exudes is what attracts people to her. Her light mesmerizes the darkness in everyone else.


	8. Chapter 8

Disclaimer: I only own Felicity! Please review, please please please!

* * *

Felicity.

Dwarves, we were ambushed by fucking _dwarves!_ I roll my eyes again, a surprisingly difficult feat when you're hanging upside down.

"Please, sirs, the Queen's men are coming, it is imperative that you let us go!" Snow implores, Eric has gotten silent. But I think that's mostly due to the fact that these dwarves have hit him repeatedly in his gentle area.

"If it's gold you want, we can promise you more than you can imagine if you just come with us. If you can't take his words, take ours!" I say to them. I'm face to face with an angry pair of gray eyes.

"We should kill them all!" One shouts, a few others hurrah.

"Could you really kill a girl?" Another asks the one who ordered our death.

"Well...no." He hesitates, looking at us thoughtfully.

"I can!" Another one screams, looking at us menacingly. I hiss at him.

"This one is a wildcat!" One roars with laughter, setting off another few. I swear when I get out of these bonds I'll make him think twice about everything they'd done since capturing us.

The Queen's men sound closer, their horses' hoofbeats sounding close.

"Please sirs!" Snow begs at the same time I say, "Now you odious beasts!"

"What think you Muir?" They ask one with foggy gray eyes. He ponders for a few seconds, but it feels like an eternity before he finally says, "Let them go."

We all three hit the ground with a thud, and I don't even have a moment to ponder the pain before we're up and running, the Queen's men in sight. I still can't swallow the uncomfortable block in my throat that arose the second I locked eyes with Muir. Though blind it seemed as if he looked right at me, imparting so many thoughts to me in a single glance.

We walk swiftly and in silence through twists and turns of the forest. As we progress, the forest grows greener and greener. Snow looks about in wonder, her pale eyes lit up by the thriving flowers and sweet sounds of wild life. There's a rosiness back in her cheeks, and a gentle smile that won't leave her face.

She's magnetic, the dwarves cast her sidelong glances every so often, Eric follows her movements subconsciously. I think that once I would have been jealous, gotten angry about all the attention she receives. But I've learned it's just something I'll have to resign myself to as no one can overstep Snow's beauty.

"So could you have really killed us?" I ask the ill-tempered dwarf who proclaimed our deaths earlier. My tone no longer harbors any resentment, just curiosity. Gort, I've learned his name is.

"Yes. Kill or be killed lass, there's no place for softness in a warrior's life. I'd think you already knew the answer to that question." Gort retorts, looking straight ahead.

I stay silent for a while. He makes sense, kill or be killed, no one ever stop to consider why yes I should slay you while under a moment of pressure. I think back to all the attacks I've had to make since our escape from the castle. No deaths, but a lot of very serious injuries.

It wasn't as easy as I thought it would be. There's sinew and bone that prevent a knife from gliding into a body easily. Skin is tough, it takes a few tries sometimes and some real effort. As if sensing my agreement, Gort huffs in approval knocking the knife in my dominant hand up.

"Nice and strong," He says with a curt cluck of his tongue.

"Gort, what did you mean by you thought I'd already know the answer to that?" I ask him, hurrying my pace to keep by his side. How is it a _dwarf_ can outpace me?

"We had watched you for a while before your capture. In the Dark Forest we saw you fighting off the Queen's men. We saw the bloodthirst in your eyes as you attacked. You have the makings of a formidable soldier if you were more trained." He comments.

I nod, silently. Soldier. Slave. Whipping girl. Things that were parts of me. But who was Felicity? I shake my head.

The dwarves have settled into a small half circlet of trees, setting their things down and resting. I watch Snow flit among the butterflies and birds, a child at play.

"Duir?" I ask him as he restrings his bow.

"Mmm," He says by way of response.

"Teach me how to shoot an arrow." I ask. His eyes light up and he quickly goes about stringing me a larger sized bow. Who would this be for? I almost ask, but bite my tongue. Eric had already made enough wise cracks about their stature and had been hit in a tender area, _repeatedly._

"Now keep the bow still, it will all be useless if your bow is flying around," Duir goes on with instructions, correcting my posture and fixing my limbs.

It's a lot harder than it looks. My muscles are screaming in agony, struggling to obey all orders. The bow is heavy and hard to keep in place, the string to taut and cutting into my fingers.

"Perfect." Duir finally says, referring to my posture.

"Can I have an arrow now?" I ask him. He laughs and hands me one. Restringing the arrow is another trial in itself. It seems to take another half hour before I'm in a position he deems worthy.

"Now, it's okay if it doesn't go where you expect it. I'm sure your muscles are likely screaming with pain, but I'd like you to aim for the knot in that tree right there." He says picking a tree, a good distance away with a dark hole of a knot in its center.

My fingers, aching to release the bowstring which has cut its sensitive pads, lets go the second I identify the tree and before Duir has even finished his sentence.

The arrow flies with a crisp thwack. I stare in silence at its path, Duir says nothing.

"That was incredible!" Breathes a low voice from behind me, but I barely even turn to see who it is because I can hardly believe the sight of my arrow, dead center and feather deep in the knot of the tree.


	9. Chapter 9

Disclaimer: I own nothing, merely Felicity and the direction that I take this story. Review or i'll kill myself hehehe, also, I added a picture of somewhat I imagined Felicity to look like on my profile. It's a very loose guideline.

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Snow.

Night falls quickly in this enchanting land. 15 years of dank castle wall and musty prison smell is all I've known. This, this waving grass, these fresh buds, this cool breeze, it seems like a magic much stronger than anything I've seen Ravenna create. And I know that's what it is, in it's own way, it's magic. A special kind, an ancient kind. It's hallowed in the way that God is. And perhaps that is the magic of God.

The dwarves and the Huntsman, several cattleskins of brandy deep sing and skip around the fire. Felicity, who has not forsaken her bow since finding her proclivity towards it, shoots leaves from trees and fruits from branches. She scrambles after her arrows like a child discovering a new toy for the first time.

I've just sat back from a long dance with Gus, who approached me with such shyness and hesitation _I _started to feel bashful.

Fee swings into my lap, finally setting down her precious bow, and looks at me with moony eyes. She also indulged in a few cups of brandy.

"Snow, you look lovely in this forest. Like you belong here. Princess of the Enchanted Wood!" She proclaims drunkenly with an ineffable smile. My lovely girl.

A few dwarves smirk at her in her drunken state. At the age we are, a few cups of brandy should not be such a new experience for us. We should be experienced in _all_ ways, we're nearly 23 years old! I blush briefly at that thought. But that's what 15 years of imprisonment robbed of us, the rest of our youths. Our chance to live and be free before impending marriages and domesticity.

I take Felicity's left hand, her hand for stringing, and note the already scarred over finger pads. The trembling of the muscle although slack. My warrior girl, fierce and as valiant as ever.

"Remarkable isn't it? How she took to the bow as if a natural!" Duir says with glee from beside us. Felicity has fallen into a light doze in my lap, her nearly silent snore only perceptible to my ear.

"She's always been a natural at things." I say. Duir gives me a strange look. I hasten to continue, "No I mean, anything she tried, ever. It could be the most difficult thing in the world and she took to it like she was born to do it. It was very strange, it was obvious even as children. I fell off my horse six times before I managed to sit still in the saddle, and Fee, though she abhors all horses, was at a quick gallop in under a minute."

A strange thought, maybe that's why she was chosen as my whipping girl...Maybe it was in the hopes that she would take to killing in order to protect me as naturally as she did to everything else. Maybe it was in the hopes that she would take to sacrifice equally well. I frown. I'm a terrible friend for letting this life happen to someone I care so strongly about.

I sink into sleep with much the same thoughts. The fire beats hot in front of me, and the dwarves launch into a new raucous song. Over the fire, as I drift off to sleep I look over at where Eric sits, looking contemplatively at Felicity in her own slumber.

In my dreams I'm tortured with the life I see that I've taken from Felicity. I see her smiling, with a loving husband and a family. I see her never having to risk her life for anyone but someone she _chooses_ to do it for. I still see myself in her life of course, but as a friend not as a person she is required to protect. I'm only half asleep, I take in the scents of morning dew fresh on the grass from behind closed eyes.

Is this dream still impossible for my best friend?

I'm pulled from my pensive thoughts by a punch in the gut. I sit straight up, noticing no one else is even awake. What was that feeling? I look around alarmed. What is _this_ feeling? I feel a magnetic pull, weighted and heavy in my chest, practically dragging my feet in one direction. What in the world is going on? I shift, placing Felicity in a bed of moss. She barely bats an eyelid.

On my feet the feeling is more heady, pulling me forward with an irresistible force. I feel I should be scared, being dragged into the depths of the unknown but I only feel utterly at peace.

My legs move mechanically dragging me through the forest. It seems the animals are urging me on, pausing in their tracks to look at me with big eyes and almost smiling as the encourage me on my way. Wherever I'm headed, I'm sure it will be magnificent.

The butterflies alight on my shoulders, like a mystical cape. Sparrows seem to guide the way for me. I barely even have time to muse on how lovely the sunlight looks filtering through the canopy of the trees. Everything is so beautiful it almost causes me pain. Tears rush to my eyes. Ravenna had destroyed this, all of this that's making me feel so at peace and calm. Her dark magic had killed everything that once held life and promise, and for that she needed to be punished.

I come across a clearing. A lake that seems to be in the embrace of the long leaves of a willow tree. It takes me a second to even recognize the giant stag in the center of the lake. It's multitude of horns branch outwards, a primitive crown for the majestic king. I can tell he's a king by the way he carries himself, it's even apparent in animals.

I feel the need to drop to my knees in front of him, but it's as if his voice is speaking in my ear. 'Come closer.'

And so I do.


	10. Chapter 10

Disclaimer: i own Fee. RIIIIVYUUUH (review)! :) Here comes William! and I don't remember exact quotes so don't mind my ad lib. I changed up Gus' death a bit.

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Eric.

She had barely made a sound as she glided from our campsite. The only thing that alerted me to her leaving was Felicity's soft hand on mine, rousing each of us to follow the wandering Princess. Of course we followed, she was not the warrior one who knows what kind of unknown troubles she could get into.

She walks with the sense of amazement often connected with a child. Every flower, every butterfly, and leaf is a miracle in itself that she needs to praise individually. We approach a clearing with a massive willow tree. It takes me a moment to recognize the enormous stag in the center of the pool. Snow approaches it without hesitation, step after step, and they greet each other with a bow.

I start forward, expecting her imminent doom from clobbering, but Muir puts a hand on mine.

"You have eyes Huntsman but you do not see." He says. I still don't understand. I look to Felicity who has a certain reverence in her face.

"That stag, that stag is _life_ itself. And it's blessing her." He says, with admiration in his eyes though he can't see anything.

I see the arrow before anyone else does. It hits the side of the stag solidly. Snow screams out loud, running to clutch the stag. Felicity is by her side before I can even blink, dragging her out of the way. A fresh wave of arrows cloud the skies and fall all around where she just was. Before all our eyes, the stag erupts into an explosion of butterflies and hope flying against the sky.

Ravenna's men ride into the clearing triumphantly, bows and swords at the ready. We charge as a unit, in sync through a special magic I cannot place. Perhaps this is the blessing, I consider. I see from the corner of my eye Felicity is already making her getaway with Snow tucked under her arm. A soldier rides hard after them and I'm in quick pursuit.

As I reach the clearing they just burst through I see Felicity drawing her own half sword,a gift from the dwarves, and taking on the soldier. Snow flees farther beyond her, her long hair billowing out behind her. From the corner of my eye I see another soldier quick on her tail. I turn to help Felicity fend off the soldier, but she screams at me as she lunges at him.

"Go! Go get her!" She doesn't break eye contact with the soldier who's putting up one hell of a fight, but I've never seen anyone with such a natural talent for fighting as her.

I run after Snow, confident that Felicity will be fine. More than fine. I quickly find track of the soldier in pursuit of Snow. He thunders through the wood, breaking branches left and right, his monstrous breathing giving his position away instantly. Had he been a rabbit and had I been tracking him, he'd be dead.

Snow's far more quiet, her light footsteps barely leaving a footprint, the only sign of her passing is one long strand of hair caught on an outstretched branch. I see both of their figures ahead, I run faster, the muscles in my thighs burning. Screaming.

He locks onto her figure before I approach, his hand over her mouth, a curved blade biting into the skin of her neck. I hold my hands out in a symbol of peace, but his grip only tightens. I see a thin drip of blood running down her neck.

"Back away Huntsman, if you know what's good sense." He threatens, grinning with the few teeth he has left.

I step closer and his grip on her tightens, I see Snow wince. His knife digs in deeper, the thin stream of blood turns into a full fledged river.

Before I can move any further, a thwack of a bowstring sounds. It's lodged between his brows, solidly, feather deep. I turn around to Felicity who drops her archer's position, along with her jaw. A look comes over her eyes of utter heartbreak and I can tell it was her first kill.

"Fee!" Screams Snow, who saw the rider before I did. His sword swipes into Felicity's back, a trail of blood arching behind him as he rides towards us. I can't even see him approaching, all I see if Felicity on the hill behind him, falling to her knees, then flat on her face. The rider comes to Snow quickly, I know there's no way I'll make it over there in time. Out of nowhere, Gus jumps up with his sword drawn and jabs it swiftly between the man's ribs. He looks down enraged at the metal sticking out of his chest and stabs his own sword down into Gus' stomach.

"Gus!" Snow screams holding the smaller dwarf. The stabbed rider falls off his horse to his knees close to Snow and attempts a few swipes before being shot down by three arrows to the chest. I look, it's one of Ravenna's men but he holds his hands up in a symbol of peace, and approaches Snow with a familiarity. I walk closer to where Snow holds the dying dwarf.

"I'm here Gus, I'm here," She says softly, her own tears falling in fat splotches on his face. She wipes them away with her sleeve.

"I'm glad to have died for you, Princess." He says by way of parting. Deaths, though they mean so much and are such an important moment in our lives, come and go with little fanfare. He blinks once, twice, and then no more, his eyes staring out without seeing. Snow bows her head and closes his eyes before laying him softly on the ground.

"Where's Fee? Where is she?" She screams to me, following the direction I lead in. The other man follows in silence, his bow slung over his shoulder.

"I'm William, son of Duke Hammond." He says when he catches my stare. I see how he looks to Snow for verification for everything, for approval.

She tears through the tall grasses and we find the still form of the whipping girl on the floor.

"Fee, Fee, oh my Fee," It's a terrible sound, mourning is. One can truly hear heartbreak.

She flips the smaller girl over, and she shudders before falling limp again.

"Thank God, thank God," Snow repeats over and over.

William and I each take an arm and haul Felicity to the new campsite. She's in a world of her own, delirious with pain, I can smell the rancid stench of bloody wound. She mutters to herself about nightmares and apple trees, nonsensical things. William whispers to her as well, his tone is comforting and it keeps her placated every so often, so I assume they all grew up together.

We lay her body again a low rock so Coll, the medic of the group can take a look at her. The rest of the dwarves gather mournfully around the body of Gus.

She murmurs in her delirium, lovely despite the blood matting her face. She looks mad, absolutely mad, yet I'm riveted. And even moreso when she murmurs under her breath, "Eric."


End file.
